The rate of recruitment for contracted soldiers in Russia to fight in Ukraine has surged six fold, Russian media reports. Between April and June, lump-sum payments were made to 92.8 thousand individuals under these contracts. The recruitment rate for 2024 has increased by at least six times compared to last year, according to data on the Russian federal budget expenditures for these lump-sum signing bonuses, as reported by the news outlet Important Stories.

The recruitment pace has notably accelerated from 2023. During the first half of last year, only 26,700 new contracts were signed — six times fewer than in 2024. Detailed records show that from April to June alone, 92,800 people received payments, reflecting federal budget expenditure statistics.

However, Important Stories notes that these figures might not accurately represent the exact number of recruits per quarter due to potential payment delays.

For instance, if a person signed their contract in March but received payment in April, they would be included in the statistics for the second quarter. Further evidence of this comes from higher sums of payments recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Earlier, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, stated that around 190,000 individuals had gone to serve under contract by July 2024. The surge in the number of contracted soldiers could be linked to increased financial incentives. In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a rise in advance payments for volunteers to up to 400,000 rubles (approximately $4,650) for those willing to fight in Ukraine.

Local authorities are also advised to finance these payments from regional budgets. For example, the Mayor of Moscow previously set a 1.9 million rubles ($21,777) advance payment for Muscovites, raising their annual salary to 5.2 million rubles ($37,669).

  War in Ukraine, conscription, Russia

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